Out but not down: S.A. bachelor dishes on ‘Bachelorette’ exit

Don’t cry too much for Hunter Wagner, the sweet San Antonio bachelor who became the latest castoff on ABC’s “The Bachelorette.”

After this week’s broadcast of his rejection by bachelorette Ali Fedotowsky, internet account executive Wagner, 29, finally was able to stop keeping a low profile around San Antonio. At last, he could “stop wearing my hat down low,” and on Wednesday, he ventured out to Tycoon Flats on St. Mary’s Street, where he got recognized a few times.

A beer was even sent over with “a napkin that had a girl’s phone number on it,” he said.

“It was strange,” the Churchill High and Texas Tech grad said in a phone chat Thursday. “I’d never been recognized like that before.”

Wagner was sent home by Ali on Monday; it was fairly early, after the third show.

He also was the first bachelor to go on a one-on-one date with the fetching blonde who didn’t get a rose at the end.

However, Hunter started out with a bang; on debut day, he charmed Ali and the audience by singing a clever song he wrote while playing the ukulele. It was such a cute moment that “The Bachelorette” closed out its premiere show with footage of Hunter singin’ and strummin’.

His biggest achilles heel? He never could get past the intrusion of those cameras. Instead of growing more and more comfortable with them as the show went on, the opposite was true. “I mean, at first at lot of people would say that the cameras just kind of disappeared after a while.

But in his case, “at first, I didn’t see the cameras. Then the more and more time that went by, the more and more I realized they were around. I was kind of shutting down in front of the cameras, and not really able to be myself.”

It also didn’t help that his date scenario paled next to some of those enjoyed by the other bachelors. Roberto and Ali walked a tightrope; Jesse and Ali had a blast in Las Vegas and Frank and she hiked to the Hollywood sign.Hunter’s one-on-one date simply consisted of dinner and time in the hot tub at Ali’s home.

“At the end of the day, neither of us had the feeling that there was much chemistry,” he said.

Making matters worse was a bit of sabotage that happened earlier in the day. Unbeknownst to Hunter, one of his roommates, Justin – an entertainment wrestler from Canada — beat him to the punch. He walked to Ali’s house the same day of Hunter’s date, causing it to start later than planned.

“I was pretty shocked when I read that – read that on the ABC little press release I guess last week that he went over there,” Hunter said. “I absolutely had no idea that he did that. I mean, I know he was gone for a couple of hours. And I remember him coming back, and I even asked him where he was this whole time, and he said he was on the couch sleeping in another room.”

Naturally, Hunter was miffed when he learned of Justin’s deception. “I felt you know, a little upset and betrayed. But he did what felt like he had to do. And I think Ty said it the best in the last episode. You know, karma will come back and bite him.”

As for who he feels has a good chance of winning Ali’s hand, he tossed out a few names: “Roberto – Kirk was definitely a great guy,” he said. “Chris was an awesome guy as well. Who else on top of my head? Jesse. I mean all the real guys that wouldn’t change the way they acted when the cameras were around are the people that I think have the best chance to be with Ali and make it last after the show is done.”

And if Hunter is invited back to the July 26th reunion show? He may just have to put a “wrestling move” on Justin, he said, jokingly.

Meanwhile, Hunter’s glad he did “The Bachelorette.” “Did I need a national television show to get a date? No, but it was definitely one heck of an experience,” Hunter added.

His family also was proud that he didn’t resort to silly shenanigans and left with his dignity intact, he said.

As for whether this will serve as a kind of springboard for getting back into the dating game, Hunter indicated that only time will tell. “Now that I’m officially kicked off, you know, we’ll see what happens,” he said.”Hopefully, he added, a couple of doors will open in the dating market here.”

I can’t see why not. Hunter’s not only cute and gentlemanly and an avid tennis player, but he owns his own home (in Northeast San Antonio) and loves fixing it up.

Where can you usually find the bachelor? “I hang around mostly on the Northeast side of San Antonio, around you know, the Stone Oak area and then you know, the Bitters area as well is pretty much where you’d find me.”